title: A survey of hand-washing facilities in the outpatient department of a tertiary care teaching hospital in India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Inadequate hand-washing facilities have been reported as a barrier to hand washing. This study aimed to evaluate the availability and accessibility of hand-washing facilities and supplies of hand-washing agents in the outpatient department (OPD) complex of a tertiary care teaching hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  A checklist containing 13 variables was prepared and all rooms of direct patient care in the OPD were assessed on one occasion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Out of 211 rooms surveyed, a hand-washing facility was available in 209 (99.05%) rooms. Among these, 206 (98.56%) sinks were easily accessible and were placed close to users. Almost all sinks (99.5%) had hand-operated taps. Thirty-five (16.75%) sinks had no soap stand, and at 21 (10.5%) sinks, soap stands were found to be broken. At 14 (6.70%) sinks, soap bars were not available, while an antiseptic agent was available at 6 (2.87%) sinks. Four (1.91%) sinks had no towel stand, and at 8 (3.83%) sinks the towel stands were broken. At 43 (20.57%) sinks no towel was available, and at 23 (11%) sinks the towels provided were dirty. No sink drain was found to be blocked. No sink had hand-washing instructions displayed demonstrating the correct technique of hand washing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Physical facilities required for hand washing were adequate though not perfect. There is a need to shift from hand-operated taps to non-manual taps and from cloth towels to paper towels. Hospital managers in developing countries should continuously strive to provide the best possible hand-washing facilities within their financial resources.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hospital Administration, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India . devnaniji@gmail.com
authors.forename: Mahesh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Devnani
authors.forename: Rajiv
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Rakesh Kumar
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Anil Kumar
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Gupta
mesh_terms: D006235:Hand Disinfection / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006784:Hospitals, Teaching; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D017053:Infection Control / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010044:Outpatient Clinics, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012915:Soaps; D014038:Toilet Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D012915:Soaps